1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an implant more particularly suitable for use as a breast: implant.
2. Description of the Related Art
Implants such as epitheses for the compensation of congenital or acquired bodily defects have long been known in surgery and have been described on many occasions. Epitheses are individually modeled organ replacements of materials, which are more particularly employed for covering facial defects including those of the ears, and however also for functional applications in prosthetics. Implants are natural or artificial and generally permanent shaped parts, which are incorporated in the body as a plastic replacement or for mechanical reinforcement, as for example eyeball epitheses.
Implants and epitheses are frequently employed to mask the effect of accidents or of surgical operations and to simulate the natural condition of the body. A frequent application is the simulation or enlargement of the female breast, as for instance to compensate for natural defects or deficiencies or after surgical amputation due to malignant tumors. Further fields of application are the compensation of congenital defects or defects due to injury or to an operation on the head.
Implants in the form of silicone-filled cushions have become familiar more particularly in aesthetic breast surgery. Implants are often employed for the replacement or stabilization of bones or parts thereof.
In the intermediate field between epitheses and implants it is frequently a question of covering over a defective superficial part of the body, as for example for aiding the healing of wounds and for the improvement of hygiene. Here protheses do not however always constitute the best solution to existing problems. A basic disadvantage of epitheses is that they are only capable of compensating for a defect of the body in appearance and forever remain a foreign body.
As seen from these points of view systems would be desirable capable of closing a wound remaining after an operation or injury or of filling a body cavity, which has been, produced, while simultaneously rendering possible the invasion by body tissue. It is in this manner that a complete integration of an implant into the body could be achieved. In an ideal case the remodelling of contours of the body would be consequently possible to reform body contours with a model shape.
Furthermore it would be desirable to make available implants which are so configured and treated and of such a texture structure that they favor the ingrowth of body tissue into the interior. Furthermore more especially in the field of aesthetic breast surgery it would be desirable, for an implant simulating the breast to be slowly resorbed during and/or after the invasion of body tissue from the body so that its place is completely assumed the by body tissue.
One object of the invention is to create an implant which avoids the above described disadvantages of conventional epitheses and implants while nevertheless being safe from a medical point of view and furthermore being tissue-compatible. The implant is to maintain its dimensional stability during the time it functions and is to have such a structure that invasion or ingrowth of body tissue may take place and an at least partial resorption is possible.
This object is to be attained with an implant which comprises a body-compatible ceramic material able to be resorbed by the body and having a pore structure.